Vermont city employs goats to get rid of poison ivy

Goats graze on poison ivy along a recreational path in the capitol city of Montpelier, Vt., on Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2018. The city has tried to get rid of the poison ivy but has been unable to control it using organic treatments, so decided to employ goats. (AP Photo/Lisa Rathke)

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Vermont’s capital city is trying a natural way to get rid of poison ivy — grazing goats.

On Wednesday, three goats munched on the plants along the small city’s bike path behind the high school.

Goat owner Mary Beth Herbert, of Moretown, says the goats graze on the poison ivy, causing stress to the plants so that they retreat. She says it will take years of cyclical grazing to eradicate the poison ivy.

On Wednesday, the goats named Ruth, Bader and Ginsburg, got a start. Herbert brought the 6-month-old Kiki goats in her Subaru, and enclosed them in fencing where they grazed away.

The city says it has tried to eradicate the poison ivy along the bike path but has been unable to do it using organic treatments.